A Sudden Visit

Vivian and Sun Mei were having coffee in the kitchen when the front door opened with a bang. It was barely 10 o'clock. Mr. Wu was still at work and Lily was at school, so they had no idea who it could be.

"Another thief!" Vivian said immediately as she stood up.

"I was not really a thief!" Sun Mei pointed out frustratedly as she followed Vivian.

"That would have hardly mattered if I'd had a heart attack…"

Sun Mei understood what she meant. Sometimes, what one thought mattered more than what was actually true.

When they reached the front hall, they found a beautiful woman standing there and looking around. The woman had shiny long black hair, piercing eyes, and sharp cheekbones. Her full lips were painted bright red, and she was wearing an elegant coat.

"What are you doing here?" Vivian roared. She actually looked more furious at this stranger than she had been at Sun Mei when she had mistaken her for a thief.

"I came to see my daughter," said the other woman.

"It's 10 o'clock, your daughter is at school!" Vivian said with a scowl. "You would have known that if you'd cared enough to ask. Lily has been begging to see you for weeks, but you haven't been available. How convenient that as soon as Mr. Wu told you he was getting a nanny, you suddenly are free!"

This is Jenny, Sun Mei thought. This is the woman who went to a spa and left her baby daughter home alone.

"Is this the nanny?" asked Jenny, who ignored everything Vivian had just said and immediately scanned Sun Mei from head to toe.

"Yes, that's me," Sun Mei answered nervously.

Jenny Wu looked at her arrogantly through her thick eyelashes. "Can I see your resume? Do you have any references?" she asked formally.

Before Sun Mei could answer any of her questions, Vivian exploded. "Are you really going to stand there and ask this girl for references? You shameless woman! You should have been asked for references before you were allowed to have a kid!"

Jenny Wu rolled her eyes. "Oh, spare me, Vivian. I know you never liked me, but…"

"No, you are wrong," said Vivian. "I actually hate you."

Sun Mei almost laughed out loud at Vivian's honesty. She would have never talked to her former employer like that.

"The feeling is mutual," said Jenny with a glare before turning back to Sun Mei. "So where did my husband find you?" she asked.

Ex-husband, Sun Mei thought, even though she did not dare correct the other woman.

"Oh… We met at a party…"

Jenny Wu immediately started laughing. "I knew you were not a mere nanny! Charles would never have called me about a random nanny."

"What do you mean?" Sun Mei asked in confusion.

"You are his girlfriend, aren't you?" Jenny accused her. "This nanny thing is an excuse to get you a visa without him actually having to marry you. He is a very crafty man, I'll give him that…"

Sun Mei, who was astonished by the turn this conversation had taken, muttered in shock, "I already have a visa…"

"Is this an excuse to get Lily to like you then?" the other woman asked.

"No, it's not."

"I don't believe you!"

As the two women raised their voices and Vivian joined in, the front door was unlocked quietly.